The Misadventures of Hyperdimension Peashy

Episode 67

by Derald Snyder

*At the Leanbox Basilicom...*

"So long, sucker!" Rayna added as she and Sicily were sucked into the gate, leaving her empty chains behind.

"NOOOO! Nyet, nyet, nyet!" Sergei cried in despair as he pounded on the barrier... only to face-plant as it abruptly gave out. "Nnngghh... Adrian, comrade, I have failed you..."

But then he heard a crackle, looking up to see green electricity speaking in mid-air, before a bright flash filled the room! "Agh, my eyes!" Sergei cried as he recoiled from the light...

*Overlord's Castle*

"We're hoooome~!" Sicily called as the light faded.

"About damn time," Rayna muttered as she stretched her now-free limbs, though her wings were still bound... "Wait a second, what are we doing down here?!"

'Down here' was the castle dungeon, the two angels finding themselves on the wrong side of an iron cell door, a Majin sleeping on the other side. "Wake uuuuuup!" Sicily shouted.

"SNRK-! Gh-huh?" the demon shook himself awake, blinking a few times... "Wh- Rayna? P-Princess Sicily?! W-what are you two doing in there?!"

"I dunno, but if you don't let us out this instant, I'll break out myself and run you through!" the fallen angel growled menacingly.

"N-no, that's, I'll let you out!" the Majin babbled as he quickly unlocked the door, allowing the two to step out. "But... what happened to that human that was imprisoned here?"

"Human...?" Rayna's eyes went wide as realization dawned. "MAAAGEEEEEEEEESSSS.!"

*Back at the Basilicom...*

As the light faded, Sergei blinked rapidly to try and regain his vision, standing with his handgun at the ready... The first thing he made out was a witch's hat, then long hair and a feminine figure. "Wh-who are you...?!"

"Hmhmhmhm... it appears my experiment was a success after all," the woman said to herself. She then turned to face the soldier, revealing blue eyes with a mole under her right eye. "You appear to be local military. Might you impart to me our current location?"

"Oh, ah... you are in the Leanbox Basilicom," Sergei replied hesitantly. "But who are you, woman?"

"The Basilicom... so I made it back to Gamindustri after all! Fuahahahaha!" the bluenette laughed in triumph. "Oh, I forget myself. I am the genius prodigy who blends both magic and science together... MAGES. the Mad Magician!"

"MAGES...? Ah, now I remember!" Sergei exclaimed, lowering his weapon. "You are that one that was captured by Demon Lord Etna, correct?"

"...Yes, it was I," MAGES. admitted forlornly. "I had been attempting to retrieve someone who had fallen into the netherworld, yet was still alive... But I called that demon into our world instead. The crisis that now engulfs Gamindustri is entirely of my own doing, my own foolishness. I only hope that I can be forgiven, and allowed to make amends..." Suddenly, she went wobbly on her feet, causing Sergei to rush forward and support her before could collapse. "M-my apologies. It seems that I suffer from mild malnutrition..."

"Perhaps then, you should go to the hospital, just to be safe, eh?" Sergei suggested.

"Y-yes, I suppose a medical evaluation wouldn't hurt..." the Mad Magician assented, letting the soldier pick her up in a bridal carry.

*Meanwhile, the battle with Nepgya continues!*

(Music: 'Fight'- Power Rangers Redux)

"YAHH! HAHH!" Nepgya yelled as she continued to sword duel with Adrian. Her superior technique was becoming clear, as the soldier was slowly being pushed back. "IS THIS THE BEST A LEANBOX ARMY SOLDIER CAN DO?"

Locking blades with the robot again, Adrian retorted, "You forget, I'm not the only soldier here!"

*BAM!* Nepgya was promptly sent flying by a Peach Tackle, rolling along the ground for a bit before coming up to a kneeling position. "OKAY, THAT ONE HURT A LITTLE..."

"Adrian, now!" Peach ordered, her fiancee promptly equipping his assault rifle and opening fire!

"AGH!" Nepgya grunted as she reflexively put her arms up to block the automatic fire, managing to stand straight. "LEAD BULLETS DON'T EFFECT MY METAL BODY!" But then the gunfire stopped, Nepgya realizing the ruse, only her robot reflexes saving her in time as she just barely rolled away from another leaping punch by Peashy! She then retaliated with her laser eyes, Peach quickly rolling away! Nepgya then raised her laser blade to block as Adrian charged in again... "NOT THIS TIME!" She declared as she unleashed her eye lasers at point blank range, a small explosion resulting!

"ADRIAN!" Peach cried as she watched her fiancee collapse to the ground, his chest armor completely vaporized! She started running to him, only to stop short when Nepgya pointed her laser blade at his neck!

"OH HO HO HO HO! WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?" the funny face taunted. "ONE WRONG MOVE AND HIS HEAD GOES BYE BYE!"

Peashy hesitated for a moment, before suddenly relaxing. "I'm not gonna do anything... she is!"

"HUH...?" Realization dawned on Nepgya, quickly withdrawing her blade from Adrian's throat, but too late, as a Sylhet Spear attack slammed into her midsection, sending her tumbling away! "SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE INCURRED...!"

Adrian slowly picked his head up, seeing the form of his goddess in HDD form! "Lady... Green Heart...!"

"Are you all right, petty officer?!" Green Heart questioned as she held her spear in a ready position.

The soldier groaned as he pulled himself up to a sitting position. "-yeah, I'm fine... armor took the brunt of it..."

"Goodness, what's going on here?!" Another female voice called from above, the HDD form of Purple Sister descending nearby. "I heard a news report about me supposedly causing trouble...!"

"That's the culprit, right there!" Peach pointed at Nepgya, who was slowly picking herself up off the ground.

"Huh... Wait, Nepgya?!" Purple Sister gasped in surprise. "I've been looking all over Planeptune for you! You've been in Leanbox this whole time?!"

"At least since not long after Lady Vert hired me as her bodyguard!" Peashy supplied. "She's been nothing but trouble for me!"

"AH... H-HELLO THERE, MASTER," Nepgya greeted, beads of sweat visible on her face. "IT'S BEEN A LONG WHILE, HASN'T IT?"

"Far too long!" the CPU Candidate agreed, her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't have gotten up and walked out of the lab before I could finish tweaking your AI!"

"Ah, now it finally all makes sense," Green Heart nodded. "The reason she acts so strange is because her programming is incomplete..."

"Yeah, well she nearly killed me with her eye lasers!" Adrian accused, pointing to his non-existent chest armor.

"What?!" Purple Sister gasped in dismay. "Is this true, Nepgya?!"

"UM, WELL..." the robot stammered. "I-I WAS JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS FROM MY NEW MASTER... I OWE HER A DEBT FOR HER MINION RETRIEVING ME FROM THE JUNKYARD..."

"NEW master?!" Peach asked in confusion.

"Wait... don't tell me... was it Demon Lord Etna?!" Green Heart demanded.

"YOU ARE QUITE PERCEPTIVE, GREEN HEART. YES, YOU ARE CORRECT," the robot confirmed.

"S-seriously?!" Purple Sister cried in shock. "First that devil wrecks my Nepgeardam, and now she hijacks my robot duplicate?! Ohh... I've become the butt-monkey of this story again, haven't I...? Why me...?" the HDD goddess sank to the ground, reverting to normal and burying her head in her knees as an aura of despair surrounded her.

"...NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND FOR A DISTRACTION, BUT I'LL TAKE IT! DIMENSIONAL GATEKEEPER, BRING ME BACK NOW!" Nepgya proclaimed, the gate materializing a few moments later.

"Oh no you don't!" Peach yelled as she charged the funny face, only to have to roll to one side as Nepgya unleashed her laser eyes again!

"WE WILL MEET AGAIN, PEACH! OH HO HO HO HO!" Nepgya laughed as she was sucked into the gate and vanished.

"Dammit!" the bodyguard punched a fist into the pavement, cracking it slightly. "You won't get away next time! You hear me?!"

"Peach, that's enough," Vert chastised as she drew Nepgear into a soft embrace, having reverted to normal herself. "At least we managed to stop her before any civilians were hurt..."

"Yeah, about that..." Adrian grunted as he pulled off his helmet. "Doesn't it seem strange that Nepgya only caused property damage? If she was really Etna's minion now, why didn't she hurt anyone? ...Present company excepted."

"That is strange," Vert mused. "And another thing's been bothering me... the earlier incident with that demon and Prinny. Their taking over a single intersection in Leanbox City didn't seem to make any tactical sense, either. It's almost as if they were trying to draw attention..."

"Wait, that's it!" Adrian realized. "It was a distraction, a sleight-of-hand! Like the magician that makes everyone focus on his right hand while he does the trick with his left!"

"Ahh!" Peach gasped, "THAT'S how they got a hold of Nepgya! Etna sent another one of her demons to the junkyard while the other demon and Prinny caused mayhem! Of course!"

"Really?" Nepgear raised her head up from Vert's bosom. "D-does that mean this attack by Nepgya was another diversion?!"

"It has to have been!" Adrian affirmed, "That's why she attacked so close to the stadium where you were working on your Nepgeardam! She wanted to get your attention!"

"But if that's true, then... oh goodness! My Nepgeardam!" The goddess swiftly transformed again. "Sorry Vert, but I have to make sure Etna didn't steal that too!" With that, she turned and flew off toward the stadium.

"...Somehow, I don't think that's it," Vert muttered. "It's more likely that Etna meant to insert a covert agent into Leanbox City, like she tried to do with Rayna before..."

Peashy then snapped her fingers. "Wait, what if she meant to get you away from the Basilicom, so she could rescue her fallen angel?!"

The busty CPU gasped as her eyes shrunk to circles. "I didn't even think of that! I know Sergei was guarding her, but...!"

"I better call him!" Adrian grunted as he ran back to his Jeep, only to be restrained by Peach.

"I don't think so. You're going to the hospital to make sure you're okay," the blonde insisted. "I'll call Sergei for you, okay?"

"But you can't drive my Jeep," Adrian pointed out.

"We'll let the police take care of it," Vert said. "I will transport you to the hospital myself..." Transforming again, she picked up the petty officer in her arms. "Peach, you help the police secure the scene, and check on Nepgear later, won't you?"

"Roger that, Lady Vert!" the bodyguard nodded and saluted, watching as Green Heart and Adrian flew off...

*Some time later, at the hospital lobby...*

"...So that's what happened," Vert commented as Sergei finished his explanation of what had transpired at the Basilicom. "Little Sicily seemed like she was dead set against what Etna had planned, but I guess she just couldn't let her fellow angel suffer, in the end..."

"Even so, I cannot apologize enough for falling asleep on the job, Lady Vert!" the gunnery sergeant lamented. "If my commander finds out, I will be relegated to KP duty at the very least...!"

"I won't tell if you won't," Adrian spoke up, having swapped to civilian clothing, though his chest was bandaged slightly under his shirt. "Besides, there was a silver lining to their escape... Etna no longer has MAGES. as her prisoner."

"Yes, that is quite fortunate for us," Vert agreed. Just then, a woman with long blue hair and headphones entered the lobby, walking up to the group.

"Lady Vert!" 5pb. greeted. "How's MAGES.? Is she going to be okay?!"

"Hello, 5pb.," Vert acknowledged. "Yes, she's going to be fine, she's just weak from malnutrition. The doctor said she should be back on her feet after a few square meals... I assume you want her room number?"

"Yes, please!" the singer nodded. "Oh, and who are you gentlemen?"

"Gunnery Sergeant Sergei Johnson, 81st Unit, Leanbox Army," Sergei introduced himself. "I was the one who brought your relative to the hospital. And this is my comrade, First-Class Petty Officer Adrian Johns."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss 5pb.," Adrian greeted.

"I see. Well, thank you for helping my cousin," 5pb. bowed in gratitude. So after receiving the room number from Vert, she headed for the elevator...

*Patient Room 1155*

"5pb., how nice of you to come visit me," MAGES greeted, sitting up in her hospital bed, a half-eaten plate of food in front of her. She pushed the food table aside as her cousin approached, who promptly enveloped her in a grateful embrace.

"Oh, MAGES., I'm so glad you're okay," the singer sighed, tears at the corners of her eyes. "When I read that note in your lab, I feared the worst had befallen you..."

"Indeed, I believed my life was at an end as well," the Mad Magician admitted. "However, that Demon Lord merely roughed me up, then dragged me back to the netherworld, where she forced me to try and create inventions that assist in her conquest of Gamindustri. I managed to stall her for a while by replicating previous experiments of mine that had failed... but then that Nepgya was brought to me, and I had no choice but to repair it, or else starve to death..."

"That's terrible..." 5pb. sighed... "But at least you weren't crucified or cast into the eternal lake of fire..."

"Indeed, I suppose I should consider myself fortunate," MAGES. concurred.

"But anyway, how did you manage to escape?" the elder cousin inquired curiously.

"I managed to intercept a package that contained a sleeping angel," MAGES. explained, "and I rigged a crude transport system combined with my magic, and managed to send it to Gamindustri. Using my knowledge of magic and science, I was able to weave a feedback loop of sorts into that angel's dimensional flux..."

"Umm, you're kinda losing me here, MAGES..." 5pb. sweat-dropped.

"My apologies. Basically, once that angel found her way through a dimensional gate back to the netherworld, it triggered an equivalent exchange that caused me to slide to her last location in the dimension she traveled to, i.e. this one. That is how I was able to return here. Simple in concept, but quite complex to actually execute... I'm almost surprised that it worked flawlessly this time."

"Well, as long as it worked," 5pb. nodded and smiled. "But, what if that demon lord comes back for revenge?"

"I have no doubt that she will return," MAGES. stated ominously. "I have already informed Lady Vert that she has whatever assistance I can offer her, once I have recovered properly..."

"Okay!" her cousin nodded with a determined look on her face. "I'm going to do what I can to help, too! I owe Lady Vert and Nepgear that much!"

"Indeed. Then let us walk the path of madness together, dear cousin! Fuahahaha!" the Mad Magician laughed, albeit slightly weaker than normal.

"Still as chuunibyou as ever..." 5pb. sweat-dropped again.

*To be continued...*